Moscow police detain opposition figure Navalny as he hands out leaflets in the subway

MOSCOW – Moscow police have detained anti-corruption campaigner and leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny as he and supporters were handing out leaflets in the subway.

Navalny's spokeswoman reported the detention of Navalny and one of his associates in a Twitter post. The Interfax news agency later cited police as confirming that the two men had been detained Sunday for trying to cause public disturbance.

Navalny and his supporters were handing out leaflets urging people to take part in an "anti-crisis" march on March 1. Russia is facing an economic crisis because of low oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Navalny was convicted in late December of fraud and given a 3 1/2 -year suspended sentence, and was ordered to remain under house arrest until his appeals were exhausted.